.Home from Japan.

I am back home in Hood River now from spending this past snowboard season in Norikura, Japan. I can honestly say that going to Japan has been one of the best and most life changing experiences I have had so far. I cannot even begin to describe how awesome working at NORTHSTAR outdoor adventures (www.ridenorthstar.com) is to all of you, but to sum up the thousands of words and hundreds of stories I have in my head from the past 3 months into just a few sentences, I will say this; there were vast challenges, opportunities to grow, amazing new friends from around the world, loads of hard work and let's not forget my favorite part, snowboarding. So much snowboarding.... I have never been able to ride as much in one season as I did while in Norikura. I had so much fun and I wouldn't trade the experiences or friends from my time in Japan for anything.

Traveling and getting out of my comfort zone always open my eyes to what life is really supposed to be about. I feel so much more grounded now in the things that I want, and for the opportunities I know I have to effect people around me in positive ways. You should always be stoked on life. You should always have a fire and passion for the things you love, the people you love and the talents you are given. It's when we reach that place of complacency, that we start to fail, and lose sight of what we really want to do on this earth, and who we are meant to be. Life is about growing, and learning from past experiences. Never giving up or getting down about past mistakes, but looking forward with positivity about how many future successes we'll accomplish.

So, the short conclusion of my trip to Japan is this: life is what you make of it. We have opportunities every single day to learn, and be challenged and grow, but it's our choice to use the hindsights and the experiences (good and bad, failures and success') to become the individuals we desire to be. Live your passion. Share your love. Get stoked on life. Enjoy every moment, every smile, every laugh, hug and kiss. They are all irreplaceable gifts from above.